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The Ultimate Guide To Getting The Cheapest Flights to Europe

If Europe isn’t in the books this year because of tight budgets, read on and be amazed at how you can still score a cheap flight overseas (even with some last-minute planning).

We’ve listed all the essential tips and tricks for booking the cheapest flights to Europe using Skyscanner below:

Step 1: Be Flexible

First things first- if you’re looking at going around a holiday or long weekend, a cheap flight to Europe is out of the question. But to make things easier, here are the general rules for getting the cheapest flights possible:

Flights are a lot cheaper if you depart and return during the middle of the week.

Flights are significantly less if you depart after a major North American holiday.

Flights leaving early-morning or late-night are a lot cheaper.

Step 2: Find The Cheapest Destination

When searching for flights, Skyscanner is always my go-to resource for finding the cheapest prices out there (many other travel bloggers feel the same).

When on Skyscanner, enter in the departing city, choose EVERYWHERE (even though you’re looking at Europe) and choose the months you’re available to depart in.

After clicking on SEARCH FLIGHTS, a list of all the destinations will populate showing the cheapest flights first. You’ll have to go down the list until you find the destination you’re interested in. Here are some recent examples of super cheap flights to Europe departing from Toronto found on Skyscanner:

Step 3: Pick Your Dates

Click through on the price, to see a calendar of the cheapest dates. As shown, some dates are more than others so it really comes down to being flexible. After choosing a date and price that works, click through to book.

No one’s going to believe you when you tell them you got a flight to Europe for $220!

Step 4: Set-Up A Price Alert

If the destination or date you were hoping for isn’t there and you feel comfortable booking a last-minute ticket, create a price alert. After searching for your flight, there will be a GET PRICE ALERTS option on the side of the results page.

You’re able to set multiple price alerts for destinations and dates. If you’re only interested in seeing Spain, Greece or France over a specific time…create price alerts for those destinations and dates.

Step 5: See More Of Europe With Budget Airlines

Europe is one of the best areas in the world to take advantage of those dirt-cheap flights with budget airlines. Take advantage of this whileoverseas to see more of Europe. In a lot of cases, flights with low-cost carriers can be significantly cheaper than renting a car or taking the train.

If you haven’t heard already, these flights come with a very ‘no-frills’ experience. Meaning, on your flight you’ll get a lot less leg room, no food or drinks, and no checked luggage (this can be added on for a fee). Some carriers like Ryanair will even charge a fee if you don’t print your boarding pass before getting to the airport. So, before booking anything READ THE FINE PRINT to avoid any frustrations or extra costs while travelling.

We’ve made a list of all the budget carriers by each European destination below:

**Be aware of the airport used for these flights. Many times it will be a different than the international airport you fly into from overseas.

These are many more, but this list includes the most popular options. Skyscanner also picks up most of these budget airlines, unlike a lot of other flight engines.

Finding Even Cheaper Flights

So there you have it! The ultimate guide to getting the cheapest flights to Europe. You just saved yourself a ton of money that can go towards beers in Prague, pizza in Naples, or souvenirs in Paris.But what if these flights to Europe are still over your travel budget?

Use the same process on Skyscanner as listed above, but click on MAP to explore spots closer to home! You’d be surprised at how far you can go with a flight under $400 return CAD. Don’t believe me? Check out the results below, and click on the map to find flights for yourself.

Have any more travel hacks or tips to add for booking your Europe trip? If we’re missing any, please comment below to share with other like-minded travellers. Good luck and safe travels!